At Sea Observing
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Project Summary >
Groundfish At Sea Observer Program
January 01, 2005
British Columbia, Canada
Archipelago Marine Research Ltd. has held the Pacific Region Groundfish At Sea Observer
contract with Fisheries and Oceans since 1987.
The original need for Observers to be aboard foreign fishing vessels conducting fishing and
processing operations within Canada's 200-mile jurisdiction led to the establishment of the
Pacific Groundfish At Sea Observer Program. Fisheries and Ocean’s desire to contract out this
service led to the development of expertise in a private firm to provide independent, third-party
observer services on a contracted basis. The increasing need for the independent collection of
at sea data from a growing number of domestic fisheries has led to an expanded scope and
complexity within the Pacific Groundfish At Sea Observer Program.
Currently, the program is responsible for the monitoring of all groundfish fisheries in the Pacific
Region of Canada including foreign vessels fishing in the zone. It is an integral part of the
management framework for these fisheries and includes:
- Detailed catch monitoring of all species including utilization to provide total mortality of
all species spatially and temporally
- Rigorous sampling for stock assessment and other scientific research
- Compliance monitoring and reporting
- Rapid (48 hour) turn-around of all key catch data for real-time fisheries management
- Over 7,500 seadays per year on six different fisheries utilizing a variety of gear types on
vessels from 5 - 40 meters
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